1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive video system, and in particular, an interactive video system capable of combining streaming televised events with video conferencing technology to create a social television experience.
2. Related Art
Televised sporting events are often viewed in groups as the social setting enhances viewers' enjoyment of the game. However, in some situations, viewers may not be able to view the televised sporting events with their preferred friends, family, and acquaintances. Individuals may be scattered around the country, world, or otherwise unavailable. Nonetheless, viewers often seek out similar social interactions while viewing the sporting events using a variety of social media and social networking technology. For example, viewers may communicate via instant message, email, text message, or over the phone when viewing a televised sporting event.
However, viewers may not find known social networking technologies to be an adequate replacement for the social setting that accompanies group viewings of broadcast events. Further, viewers may be limited to communicating with friends one at a time using one type of social networking technology at a time. Moreover, use of social networking technology may divide the attention of the viewers between the televised broadcast and the communication device. Thus, there exists a need for an interactive video system that enables remote viewers to communicate with each other while simultaneously observing a broadcast event.